Filtered by Topic: Monetary Policy Use setting Monetary Policy
Africa Chart Pack (May. 2024) …
28th May 2024
The yield of 10-year Japanese government bonds (JGBs) is now almost where we forecast it to be at the end of the year. Admittedly, we doubt that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will tighten policy as quickly as investors think in the next two years. But we …
Fall in inflation means rate cut in June still in play The decline in Brazilian inflation to 3.7% y/y in the first half of this month, coupled with signs of easing price pressures in some core categories, will provide relief to policymakers at the central …
The debt-to-income restrictions launched by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand today won’t restrict the flow of new mortgage lending. In fact, the concurrent easing of restrictions on loan-to-value restrictions will result in slightly looser lending …
The further fall in headline inflation in April, to a three-year low of 2.6%, means the 2% target could be achieved as soon as August. Whether the Bank of Canada cuts interest rates in a couple of weeks or waits until July, our key message is that the …
24th May 2024
South Africa's pivotal election looms There’s less than a week to go until South Africa’s pivotal election and there remains significant uncertainty about the ANC’s vote share and, if it’s forced to go into coalition, who it will ally with. The ANC’s vote …
Fed in wait-and-see mode Fed to proceed with caution The minutes of the Fed’s early May policy meeting were, not surprisingly given the backdrop of data releases ahead of that meeting, somewhat hawkish. The resilience of economic growth and employment, …
Mexico’s election race enters the final phase Next week marks the final week ahead of Mexico’s election, in which all seats in congress, thousands of local government positions and, most importantly, the presidency are up for grabs. The opinion polls …
Singapore’s economy to remain weak this year The second estimate of first quarter GDP (published on Thursday) confirmed that growth in Singapore slowed sharply last quarter. In q/q terms, the economy expanded by just 0.1%, down from 1.2% in the final …
The mammoth general election is entering its final week, with just 115 of the 544 constituencies left to vote before the result is announced on 4 th June. Clients can see all of our election insights here . We will also be discussing the election result …
Inflation rapidly losing momentum The economic data released over the last couple of weeks hardly suggest that the Bank of Japan should tighten monetary policy any further. After all, GDP plunged by 0.5% q/q in Q1 and the April inflation data released …
Households seem keen on saving more The minutes of the RBA’s May meeting confirmed that the Bank discussed a rate hike in response to the upside surprises in inflation and the labour market, but ultimately decided against it. One reason was that the …
The latest flash PMIs suggest that GDP growth in advanced economies has continued to gain momentum in Q2. And central banks may take comfort in the fact that services price pressures seem to be easing. Our estimate of the flash DM composite output PMI …
23rd May 2024
We still think inflation will fall faster than the Bank of England is expecting, but in the light of April’s CPI release we now expect the downward trend to be slower and smaller. As a result, we have shifted back our forecast for the timing of the first …
South Africa’s upcoming election looks set to herald a new era of coalition government. There are lots of permutations ranging from a centrist ANC-DA coalition to a so-called ‘doomsday coalition’ in which the ANC teams up with the left-wing EFF (although …
Rates to stay on hold throughout the year Turkey’s central bank left its main policy rate unchanged at 50.00% again today and the statement continued to emphasise the need to keep interest rates high for a prolonged period. While the consensus view is for …
We don’t think the pick-up in euro-zone negotiated wage growth in Q1 will stop the ECB from cutting interest rates in June. But the continued strength of pay pressures reduces the chance of the ECB cutting rates rapidly in the second half of the year. The …
Survey provides support for summer rate cut Today’s May flash PMI survey will have provided the Bank of England with some comfort after yesterday’s stronger-than-expected inflation data for April. Crucially, the further fall in the services output prices …
The Bank of Korea left its policy rate on hold today (at 3.5%) and appeared to indicate that interest rates would not be cut until it was confident that inflation would fall back to target. Given our view that price pressures will ease further over the …
On hold, but easing likely before year-end The decision by the Bank of Korea to leave the policy rate unchanged (at 3.5%) today came as no surprise, of more interest will be the tone of the central bank’s statement and Governor Rhee’s press conference. …
FOMC stresses higher for longer The minutes of the Fed’s early May policy meeting are, not surprisingly given the backdrop of data releases ahead of that meeting, somewhat hawkish. The resilience of economic growth and employment, and particularly the …
22nd May 2024
While GDP growth in the Andean economies will be stronger this year than last, the opposite is likely to be the case in Brazil and Mexico. Core services inflation, which central banks are paying close attention to, is showing signs of easing. But with …
While stronger-than-expected inflation data from the UK have led us to push back a bit our forecast for the start of the Bank of England’s easing cycle, we still project many more rate cuts than most anticipate. This feeds into our view that Gilt yields …
Economic growth strengthened across Emerging Europe in Q1, and leading indicators suggest that it has picked up further in most countries in Q2. With inflation likely to rise (or stay) above central banks’ targets in the second half of this year, the …
BI on hold, cuts by year-end Bank Indonesia today left interest rates unchanged (at 6.25%) and the comments from the press conference suggest this marks the end of the tightening cycle. Following April surprise hike, today’s decision came as no …
Although it left rates unchanged at its meeting today, the RBNZ indicated that interest rates may have to stay higher for longer. However, we think the Bank is overstating the upside risks to the inflation outlook. Accordingly, we still think there’s a …
RBNZ signals rate cuts may have to wait Although the RBNZ suggested that there was a high bar for further policy tightening, the Committee stated that interest rates may have to remain at their current restrictive level well into 2025. In our view, the …
Another large hike, MPC feels it is winning inflation battle The Central Bank of Nigeria delivered a larger-than-expected 150bp hike to its policy rate, to 26.25%, at its meeting today, reinforcing Governor Cardoso’s recent comments that officials will …
21st May 2024
The slight easing of inflationary pressures in April and softer activity data are consistent with the Fed cutting interest rates in September. Although it is taking a little longer than expected, we believe that core inflation is on course to fall back to …
Easing cycle about to enter a slower phase The decision by the Hungarian central bank (MNB) to cut its base rate by 50bp again today, to 7.25%, will be followed by more cautious monetary easing over the rest of this year. We currently forecast just 100bp …
RBA is done tightening policy The RBA continued to tout the line that all options are on the table as far as its next move is concerned. However, we still expect the Bank’s next move to be down, not up. The minutes of the RBA’s May meeting confirmed that …
India has been the star performer among major EMs over the past several quarters and the latest data suggest that the strength of economic activity has continued through to the general election. Headline inflation is grinding back to the RBI’s 4% target …
20th May 2024
If there was any lingering doubt as to whether the ECB could cut rates ahead of the Fed, they have surely been extinguished by a series of recent remarks by central bankers. Speaking at an event in Amsterdam last week Klaas Knot, the head of the Dutch …
Aggregate EM GDP growth will enter a slower phase over the coming quarters. But the headline figure masks large variation in prospects at the country level, with many EMs experiencing a reversal of last year’s fortunes. While we expect the EM monetary …
While the economy has only narrowly avoided a recession, activity should rebound over coming quarters as real household incomes recover. Indeed, with inflation set to remain above the Bank’s 2% target this year and wage growth accelerating, we expect the …
In the latest episode of The Weekly Briefing from Capital Economics, Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing addresses the White House announcement of higher tariffs on Chinese goods and what that signals about the direction of the global economic system. He …
17th May 2024
SA: NHI bill signals looser policy post-election South Africa’s President Ramaphosa approval of the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) bill this week was a clear effort to bolster the ANC’s support ahead of the election. But it also signals …
The US decision to hike tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25% to 100% and to also raise tariffs on EV batteries, semiconductors and solar panels, raises the question how Europe will respond. Europe is in a different position from the US because imports of these …
Weak growth a concern for the central bank Bank Indonesia is the only central bank in the region with a mandate to ensure currency stability. While we had not been expecting the central bank to raise interest rates at its April meeting , the move didn’t …
There will be some upward pressure on services inflation in the coming months from tourism-related items and the pass-through of higher oil prices. But we think that this will be more than offset by the impact of lower gas prices and slower wage growth, …
BoJ starting to scale back bond purchases The 0.5% q/q fall in Q1 GDP was the second fall over the last three quarters. With GDP unchanged in Q4, Japan barely escaped a recession. What’s more, with real consumption falling for four consecutive quarters, …
Budget leaves much to be desired The headlines this week were dominated entirely by the contentious 2024/25 Federal Budget , which some commentators have described as “smoke and mirrors”. We certainly sympathise with those who take umbrage at Treasurer …
An interactive guide to r* in the post-pandemic economy, including our forecasts for the major advanced economies out to 2030. This dashboard was last updated on 17th October 2023. If you have subscriber access to the data underlying this dashboard, you …
Saudi’s gigaprojects stick or twist moment Comments from Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan this week have added to the growing discourse of whether the Kingdom can afford, both literally and figuratively, to continue with its vast suite …
16th May 2024
Financial conditions have loosened somewhat in advanced economies this year, suggesting that the peak drag from monetary tightening is behind us. However, outside Japan, they remain tight by past standards and are likely to contribute to below-trend …
India is benefitting economically from maintaining its historical non-aligned stance in response to tensions between the West and Russia, and Iran to a lesser extent. But notwithstanding a potential universal tariff on all US imports under a second Trump …
Dovish BSP hints at first rate cut in Q3 The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) today left its main policy rate unchanged (at 6.50%), but the tone of the statement was much less hawkish than at its April meeting. Not only did the central bank cut its …
This interactive dashboard allows you to explore all of our forecasts and key data for the US economy. If you have subscriber access to the data underlying this redesigned dashboard, you can download it via the menu options in the top right of each chart …
This interactive dashboard allows you to explore all of our forecasts and key data for the UK economy. If you have subscriber access to the data underlying this redesigned dashboard, you can download it via the menu options in the top right of each chart …
This interactive dashboard allows you to explore all of our forecasts and key data for economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. If you have subscriber access to the data underlying this dashboard, you can download it via the menu options in the top right of each …
